A Comparative Study of Isfahan school of urban planning in Safavid with Renaissance Era in Europe

Urban planning and architecture express a nation’s culture and beliefs. In different historical periods in the West and the East, a great number of Urban and architectural Works have been created. One of the most brilliant periods of Iran is the Safavid era. Establishment of Safavid had been coincided with the Renaissance, when Europe had emerged from the Middle Ages and had begun its scientific, literary and artistic progress. However, two historical periods were simultaneous, had a lot of obvious differences in urban architectural works. Thus, this article tries to compare the Isfahan school in urban planning, which is the Safavid Utopia, with its contemporary era in Europe (Renaissance). The research uses qualitative method and descriptive-interpretive analyzes of different texts. The results show that the ideology of these two schools has had profound effects on their urban architectural works. Safavid government created Isfahan school relying on mystical concepts and Shiite ideology. They tried to establish harmony and balance in urban spaces. While Renaissance urbanism is the symbol of the domination of materialism. The Renaissance utopia is the product of imposing mental order on nature.